Editor's note: This story was previously published in March 2019. It has since been updated and republished.Despite common economic challenges, services stocks present a viable opportunity. The most obvious tailwind is that American society mostly transitioned to a service-based economy. According to the International Trade Administration, 80% of private-sector jobs are levered to the service industry. More critically, we're really good at what we do.For the past year, President Donald Trump complained bitterly about trade-imbalances with other nations, particularly China. However, the Trump administration never says a word about the services trade, where we enjoy a robust surplus. Naturally, this dynamic boosts the case for services stocks.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips * 5 Safe Stocks to Buy This Summer Another favorable factor is that several publicly traded companies in this sector are also dividend stocks. During uncertain phases, these passive-income generating names provide practically-guaranteed returns. Additionally, dividend-payers tend to perform better during bear markets.Finally, the service sector covers a wide range of opportunities. From retail to entertainment to communications, you'll have no shortage of options. Here are seven services stocks that will generate consistent, passive income for your portfolio:Source: Shutterstock United Parcel Service (UPS)Few service-based companies offer as much upside potential as e-commerce firms. However, popular names like Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) are not dividend stocks, but rather, operate purely on a capital-gains basis. So the next best thing is the transportation middleman, namely United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS).Of course, the immediate criticism is that Amazon's venture into in-house product mailing solutions will completely disrupt UPS stock. Certainly, the situation looks bad for the courier. However, UPS responded with their own e-fulfillment service, and it has more credibility than Amazon can dream about.While I respect the e-commerce giant, UPS has an established transportation network. In terms of scales of economy, UPS stock easily wins out. Plus, the company pays out a generous dividend yield at 4.2%. You're just not going to get that with most services stocks levered purely to e-commerce.Source: Shutterstock Penske Automotive Group (PAG)With the advent and later dominance of ride-sharing apps like Uber and Lyft, the concept of buying cars is steadily becoming archaic. In my first-ever Uber ride, my driver told me his personal forecast: people will stop purchasing cars and transition to ride-sharing full-time.If such a prediction comes true, services stocks like Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) would simply implode. Although I'm not going to necessarily disagree with my driver -- gotta keep my five-star rating! -- the automotive still breathes. * 6 Stocks to Buy for This Decade's Massive Megatrend One of the main factors keeping PAG stock in the running is practicality. Sure, ride-sharing apps have added options to the mix. However, nothing beats the convenience and cost-savings of driving yourself to your desired destination.With Penske's massive dealership network, they consolidate whatever sales opportunities exist, eating alive the small guys. This stinks if you're on the receiving end of this tactic. However, for stakeholders in PAG stock, they're not complaining, especially because of its 3.54% yield.Source: Mike Mozart via Flickr H&R Block (HRB)All services stocks provide important, and often necessary functions to society. However, no one has such an extreme love-hate dynamic like H&R Block (NYSE:HRB). Tax season is always a difficult time for families this time of year. Even if you're due for a refund, you don't like the paperwork involved.Of course, HRB stock makes a case for itself by alleviating this pressure for many families. This year, and moving forward, H&R Block presents an even more valuable service. That's because several taxpayers complained about the complexities and the surprise tax hit they incurred due to new laws.Moreover, the "gig economy" reshaped the labor force, with many (usually young) workers eschewing the corporate ladder for professional autonomy. Usually, though, this implies that these workers are independent contractors, which is a much more complicated tax process than being a run-of-the-mill employee.As such, you can expect HRB stock to significantly rise higher. And if not, the company is among the higher-paying dividend stocks, with a 3.68% yield.Source: Shutterstock Verizon (VZ)I'm usually not into dividend stocks as they don't fit my risk-taking personality. However, I recently took a shot with AT&T (NYSE:T). To summarize my bullish case for the telecom giant, I only need one "word," which obviously is 5G.However, AT&T isn't the only name among services stocks to benefit from the next-generation in wireless technology. Rival Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) offers similar fundamental upside. In fact, Verizon won a critical PR victory, becoming the first commercial 5G provider. But other reasons exist why you should consider VZ stock. * 7 Safe Stocks to Buy for Anxious Investors While I'm partial to AT&T as an investment, the company has leveraged itself with aggressive acquisitions. If they don't pan out, T shares will have serious problems. True, VZ stock isn't perfect in this department, but it's more stable than its core competitor.For this stability, you're not missing out that much in terms of passive income. Currently, Verizon offers a generous 4.09% dividend yield.Source: Flazingo Photos Via Flickr BG Staffing (BGSF)Back during the "analog" days, services stocks in the staff-sourcing industry had substantial relevancy. Primarily, organizations like BG Staffing (NYSEAMERICAN:BGSF) provided a useful platform for young workers to get their first professional job. Also, they helped get transitioning workers back on their feet.But with the rise of digitalization, along with social media outlets like Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), BGSF stock appears anachronistic. Often times, it's not about what you know, but who you know. Recent technologies have only made this adage frustratingly accurate, depending on your perspective.Still, I like BGSF stock and its chances to work its way out of its long-term funk. As I mentioned with H&R Block, BG Staffing benefits from the autonomous gig economy. Due to various factors such as changing employment dynamics, millennials won't typically stay at one job indefinitely.Admittedly, you'll probably need patience with BGSF stock. But while you're waiting, it's one of the highest-paying dividend stocks, featuring a 5.95% yield.Source: Jeremy Thompson via Flickr Six Flags Entertainment (SIX)Many investors have the mistaken impression that services stocks are boring; indeed, the name itself doesn't generate much excitement. However, this sector doesn't have to induce you into a coma, as renowned theme park Six Flags Entertainment (NYSE:SIX) proves.Famous (or notorious) for its stomach-churning rides, SIX stock has generated long-term gains since its initial public offering. Unfortunately, recent market sessions have offered the same diabolical sensations as you would get riding the theme park's "Full Throttle." * 7 Stocks to Buy for Over 20% Upside Potential Much of the volatility stems from SIX stock not recovering from its fourth-quarter 2018 earnings report. Although the company handily beat expectations for earnings per share, revenues disappointed against expectations. Six Flags delayed opening new locations in China due to its slowing economy.However, don't forget that revenues have consistently increased over the years. Furthermore, a possible trade deal between the U.S. and China would skyrocket SIX stock. Because of the risks involved, the company pays out a 6.37% dividend yield.Source: ATLAS Social Media via Flickr National CineMedia (NCMI)I concede that National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) is a tough pill to swallow. The broader market downturn has disproportionately impacted services stocks related to the cineplex industry. After gaining 10% in March it gave back all of that and then some, losing about 4% compared with this time last year.Given the popularity of streaming-entertainment firms like Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), National CineMedia seemingly has no chance. However, I'd advise against knee-jerk reactions when assessing NCMI stock. The box office, though a legacy institution, remains very much relevant in the 21st century.How, you may ask? Simply, cineplex operators provide a social experience that streaming-related services stocks cannot. In dying shopping malls, astute developers refocused their efforts to provide event-based attractions for family-oriented Hispanic communities, to resounding successes. Against a comparable backdrop, NCMI stock may receive a similar lift.If nothing else, National CineMedia is one of the most generous, legitimate dividend stocks. With a yield of 9.84%, it's a risky but incredibly attractive proposition.As of this writing, Josh Enomoto was long AT&T stock. More From InvestorPlace * 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid * 5 of the Best Stocks to Buy Under $10 * 7 Single-Digit P/E Stocks With Massive Upside * 7 Best Quantum Computing Stocks Trading Today Compare Brokers The post Top 7 Service Sector Stocks That Will Pay You to Own Them appeared first on InvestorPlace.

Inconsistencies like that are typically resolved via "catch-up" moves, where the stock price rises to arbitrage away the difference between the share price and its true value. UPS is solidly financed and scores in the top echelons for both stock price stability and earnings predictability.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ: ODFL) has pledged $250,000 to the Red Cross Disaster Relief effort and has created a web platform to channel employee and customer donations to the Red Cross. The donation was made through the Red Cross Disaster Responder Program, which allows Disaster Responder members to pledge financial and in-kind donations in advance of disasters. "Every day in the face of disasters, the generosity of Disaster Responder members like Old Dominion Freight Line ensures the Red Cross can provide comfort and care to people in their darkest hours," said Don Herring, chief development officer at the American Red Cross.

UPS Inc. (NYSE: UPS) said May 22 that it placed the largest order for renewable natural gas (RNG) in U.S. history with the purchase of 170 million gallon equivalents of the alternate fuel over the next seven years. Under the deal, the Atlanta-based transport and logistics giant will pay Clean Energy Fuels, (NASDAQ: CLNE) one of the nation's leading natural gas suppliers, for the energy, which will be used to run the natural gas-powered delivery vehicles in the UPS fleet. UPS has 6,100 natural gas vehicles operating in nine countries, including the U.S. The cost for the fuel, in present-day dollars, is around $95 million.

Citing the German publication Deutsche Verkehrs Zeitung (DVZ), a recent Lloyd's Loading List article suggests Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) is expanding its European air operations. If true, Amazon could threaten the control of the European express market by the triumvirate of DHL, UPS Inc (NYSE: UPS) and FedEx Corporation (NYSE: FDX). Amazon expanded its online retail platform into Europe in its early days.

UPS (UPS) today announced an agreement with Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (CLNE) to purchase 170 million gallon equivalents of renewable natural gas (RNG) through 2026. This is the largest commitment for use of RNG to date by any company in the United States, with a range of 22.5 - 25 million gallon equivalents per year. RNG is a key part of UPS’s strategy to increase alternative fuel consumption to be 40% of total ground fuel purchases by 2025, supporting the logistics leader’s efforts to reduce the absolute greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of its ground fleet 12% by 2025.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined an appeal by UPS Inc. (NYSE: UPS) of a lower court ruling that effectively validated how the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is allowed to price its parcel products and services. The Supreme Court's ruling, which was issued without comment, upholds a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The appellate court sided with the interpretation of the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC), an independent agency that approves, rejects and modifies postal rates, in determining to what degree parcel prices should cover "institutional" costs of the USPS, or the expenses required to operate the organization.

Today, The UPS Store, Inc. announced its recently launched, Mission: Veteran Entrepreneurship, a program offering significant financial incentives – valued at nearly $300,000 – for a select group of qualified U.S. military veterans to help open their own The UPS Store® franchise location. The UPS Store, Inc. is proud to support America’s U.S. armed forces as they pursue starting their own business and as a part of this effort the company will waive the franchise license fees for 10 first-time veteran franchisees. The UPS Store, Inc. is accepting franchise application packets from veterans between Wednesday, May 1, 2019, and Monday, Nov. 11, 2019 (Veterans Day).

UPS Inc. (NYSE: UPS) said late on May 15 that it has completed a multi-year, $300 million expansion of its key ground sorting and distribution hub in Louisville, Kentucky, tripling its size to more than 1 million square feet and doubling its package processing capacity to about 85,000 packages per hour. The project is critical to Atlanta-based UPS' operations because the facility, known as "Louisville Centennial," sits just a couple of miles from the company's "Worldport" global air hub at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport. Packages are inserted at the hub into the UPS air network for next-day or same-day delivery if the parcels are funneled through by the cut-off of 1:30 a.m. With the expansion, the hub will funnel even more parcels into its air operations, supporting fast deliveries to e-commerce customers, UPS said.

UPS (UPS) today announced Corporate Responsibility (CR) Magazine has named the company to its “100 Best Corporate Citizens” annual listing for the tenth straight year. The distinction celebrates the standout environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance of Russell 1000 companies across the United States. “It’s good to see our ongoing sustainability efforts to continue to be a good neighbor and to mitigate our environmental footprint are being recognized as evidenced by UPS moving up 27 spots on this listing year over year,” said Crystal Lassiter, senior director of global sustainability for UPS.

Perhaps no other company defines this century's digitized economy better than Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN). By simply mentioning AMZN stock, the U.S. has a game-changing institution that's the envy of the world. But with unprecedented dominance comes fierce criticism and opposition.Source: Shutterstock Especially in the current political environment, it's become routine to blast the e-commerce giant as disruptive and exploitative. Even President Trump -- a man who isn't exactly popular -- went on the offensive against AMZN stock.Admittedly, many of these accusations have a ring of truth to them. But what's also true is that the company has made genuine efforts to revitalize the broader economy. For instance, in its latest bid to bring one-day deliveries to Prime customers, Amazon is funding courier service entrepreneurs.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading TipsHere's the rub: they're asking AMZN employees to step up to the plate.Essentially, management wants some of their workers to quit their jobs and become entrepreneurs. The idea here is that these business owners will grow a delivery fleet to serve only Amazon customers, streamlining a segment of a multi-billion dollar industry. Of course, with e-commerce representing a greater share of all retail sales, this is a viable operation. * 7 Dividend Stocks to Buy as the Trade War Reignites To further incentivize volunteers, AMZN is offering a very generous offer: $10,000 to help with start-up costs, in addition to three-months' pay. Not only will this move boost the Amazon stock price longer-term, it may finally ease PR pressure. AMZN Employees Have Opportunity of a LifetimeOne of the best investments you could have made was to invest in Amazon stock early on. One meme circulating shows how $1,000 at the IPO would be worth $1.2 million today. Failing that, the next best choice is to partner with the company as it attempts to utterly dominate retail.Given a choice, I'll take the entrepreneurship offer over free shares of AMZN stock. Why? As a non-dividend paying growth name, you can't do much with the equity. Shares will either move higher or lower. But with the delivery-service partnership, you have the ability to control their compensation.Best of all, you don't have to deal with office politics. Your success (or failure) is entirely dependent on you. I believe this is a pivotal reason why entrepreneurs are happier than employees. This happiness segues perfectly into my next point… Partnership Offer Is a Great Deal for Amazon StockAs a former employee of several large corporations, I've experienced private couriers like FedEx (NYSE:FDX) and United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) from several angles. Generally speaking, the level of service varies by specific worker or business unit.I've encountered delivery drivers who made it clear that they hated their jobs. And over time, I've noticed less-personable service as a retail customer. Nowadays, the "track my shipment" option that many couriers offer is totally useless because the estimated arrival time window is too big.Most likely, that will change with a dedicated delivery network, eventually driving up the Amazon stock price. I say this because business owners, not employees, will handle the one-day delivery services. If a problem pops up, the managers of that particular route have every incentive to resolve it. If not, the entire business suffers. * 6 Trade War Stocks With a Lot of Risk Because personal pride and reputation is associated with each Prime shipment, I think you'll see better-than-expected performances. You can't say that about FedEx or UPS because each cog is tied to a bigger one. Therefore, on the delivery end, you don't find much motivation for operational excellence. This is an underappreciated tailwind for AMZN stock. AMZN Stock Can Finally Shed Its PR ControversiesAs I mentioned earlier, Amazon stock carries with it many controversies. Primarily, CEO and founder Jeff Bezos has disrupted the retail sector so much that several malls have simply collapsed. In those failures, however, lie terrible human tragedies.In addition, high-profile politicians and social advocates have accused Amazon of being tone deaf. The uproar was so great that ultimately, AOC upended HQ2 in NYC. Plus, you have Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang calling out the company for not paying federal taxes.But with the delivery-partnership program, AMZN can finally attract positive attention. That's because this program is an immediate job creator. True, Amazon has automated thousands of jobs into oblivion. But this partnership opportunity rewards those with a visionary spirit. In turn, these folks can grow their businesses in their communities, sparking a hiring surge.It also does away with the notion that Amazon stock is merely a consumptive entity. This bold strategy levers an accretive effect on communities impacted by either automation or disruption. At the very least, the move forces a nuanced discussion of big business in the 21st century.As of this writing, Josh Enomoto did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. More From InvestorPlace * 4 Top American Penny Pot Stocks (Buy Before June 21) * 10 Retirement Stocks That Won't Wilt in a Bear Market * 5 Consumer Stocks Ready to Push Higher * 3 of the Best ETFs to Buy for a Play on Gold Stocks Compare Brokers The post 3 Reasons Why The New Delivery Service Program Will Lift Amazon Stock appeared first on InvestorPlace.

UPS (UPS) has completed the multi-phase expansion of its Louisville Centennial ground package sortation and distribution facility. “Tripling the size of our Centennial hub provides companies with distribution centers and operations in Kentucky and the surrounding areas with more opportunities to better serve their customers,” said Joe Boyle, president of UPS’s Ohio Valley District.

The Securities Arbitration Law Firm of Klayman & Toskes, P.A. (“K&T”), www.nasd-law.com, announced today that it filed a claim against Merrill Lynch on behalf of a former UPS (UPS) employee for losses sustained from unsuitable covered call writing strategies for concentrated UPS stock positions. More importantly, the Claimant was earning much needed quarterly dividends, which he relies upon in his retirement.

Amazon (AMZN) is doing something avant-garde, paying employees to quit and start their own business. Amazon is offering employees 3-months pay and $10,000 worth of startup funds to open their own local delivery services.

UPS Inc. (NYSE: UPS) said May 14 that it will triple to 179 the number of countries that U.S. exporters can ship to on Saturdays. An additional 122 countries are now included in the company's "Worldwide Express" service, UPS said. The new countries include 20 in Europe, 28 in the Americas, 2 in Asia Pacific and 72 in the Middle East and Africa.

UPS (UPS) is significantly expanding the destination countries that are available to its U.S. customers using the company’s Saturday pick-up solution for export shipments. Businesses that schedule a Saturday pick-up for their UPS Worldwide Express portfolio packages from the U.S. to 179 international markets will have their shipments processed and shipped on Sunday and delivered as soon as Monday.